October 2016

Wednesday, May 13, 2015

That from Deacon Greg Kandra, reacting to ABC's new Catholic bashing TV show slated to premiere in the fall. He's got a trailer up that I find disgusting and far from funny.

That this kind of garbage is allowed to air on a major network, particularly one owned by Disney, speaks volumes to how low the culture has sunk. But we can't be surprised given who the show's executive producer is.

"The most incredibly vicious anti-Catholic in America is Dan Savage. What he has said about Catholicism is so vile that Disney would never air it. To offer this malicious bigot a show is the height of irresponsibility."- Bill Donohue, President, Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights

“Unfortunately, Dan Savage's public persona is completely opposite to wholesome role model for kids. His crass and even vitriolic disparaging of certain faiths and family values, and his aggressive agenda of promoting dangerous, deviant sexual experimentation couldn't have escaped Disney's or ABC's attention. To see the network that brought us Cinderella endorse a man like this should outrage every American who cares about our children and our culture.”- Lila Rose, President, Live Action

"Dan Savage recently made a lewd smear against Pope John Paul II on Twitter in which he accused him of being a child molester. This is sadly typical of Dan Savage, who has a history of making X-rated personal attacks. Why would Disney hire this man for one of their TV shows? And why would advertisers want to be associated with such vile attacks on Catholics?"- Brian Burch, President, CatholicVote.org

"These thugs will 'savage' Catholics for their religious beliefs, and then put on fundraisers to advocate tolerance for any other minority. This hits a new low for an industry that has sunk to the depths of depravity and religious hatred. The two halves of the First Amendment fit together. Those who claim free speech for the news and entertainment media, yet freely discriminate against Catholics, forget that there is no authentic free speech if there is no freedom of religion. The First Amendment will not stand in a society that has no respect for its citizens' religious beliefs."- Patrick J. Reilly, President, The Cardinal Newman Society

"Dan Savage has said some of the most vile and disgusting things about Christians that have ever been heard in America. He has publicly encouraged sexual violence against them and said they were deserving of death by torture. The fact that ABC would voluntarily work with such an extreme person to promote his immoral, hateful agenda is problematic in the extreme."- John-Henry Westen, Co-Founder and Editor-in-Chief, LifeSiteNews

"Dan Savage is called a pro-gay activist but what I know of him is that he is against just about everything, including the family. Disney will likely feel its decision to base a show on his life where it hurts the most - in its deep pockets."- Father Frank Pavone, President, Priests for Life

“Dan Savage’s hatred for those with whom he disagrees is a matter of public record, as are his many vile taunts and fantasies. If ABC does give him a platform from which to further spread his venom, then let this be the end of the claim that ‘neutral’ media such as ABC just want to promote tolerance. Anti-Christian bigotry is absolutely alright with ABC, so let’s do away with the pretense that this is just about entertainment.”- Stephen Phelan, Director of Mission Communications, Human Life International

"The idea that the vulgar, insulting, outrageous Dan Savage would rate consideration for a sitcom on ABC Disney only confirms the obvious fact that, culturally, our nation is in a moral free fall. What other reason could there be for partnering with a man who has spent much of his adult life insulting God, His followers, and His Church? How low will society go before courageous Americans stand up and say enough? The time is now to raise our voices. Join us in opposing this most recent embrace of media bigotry that has no place in a civilized nation."- Judie Brown, President, American Life League Inc.

“Disney sold out years ago, but to produce a show based on the life of a radical bigot like Dan Savage is a slap in the face to Catholics across the country. The Lepanto Institute is more than happy to join in the campaign against this program. Anti-Family propaganda like this must never see the light of day.”- Michael Hichborn, President, Lepanto Institute

Wednesday, September 03, 2014

"Our objective is clear, and that is to degrade and destroy ISIL so that it’s no longer a threat not just to Iraq but also the region and to the United States."

"We know that if we are joined by the international community, we can continue to shrink ISIL’s sphere of influence, its effectiveness, its financing, its military capabilities to the point where it is a manageable problem."

"What we’ve got to do is make sure that we are organizing the Arab world, the Middle East, the Muslim world along with the international community to isolate this cancer, this particular brand of extremism that is, first and foremost, destructive to the Muslim world and the Arab world and North Africa, and the people who live there."

So Obama's strategy when it comes to dealing with ISIS is three-fold. Degrade and destroy them. Shrink their influence and effectiveness to the point that they're merely a manageable problem. And organize the Arab world so that the international community can isolate ISIS.

Saturday, July 19, 2014

Russian separatists shoot down a civilian airliner resulting in the murder of nearly 300 innocents. Conflicts in the Middle East are on the rise, from the Gaza strip to Syria to Iraq. Our borders are porous and are encouraging an unprecedented humanitarian crisis. Iran misses a negotiations deadline purposed in curtailing its nuclear ambitions. A United States Marine languishes in a Mexican prison, held against his will for making an obvious mistake. Muslim radical power is expanding in Africa and civilians are paying the price.

Lots going on in the world crying out for American leadership and resolve.

President Barack Obama plans to sign two executive orders Monday prohibiting discrimination against gay and transgender workers in the federal government and its contracting agencies, without a new exemption that was requested by some religious organizations.

Obama’s action comes on the heels of the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ruling in the Hobby Lobby case that allowed some religiously oriented businesses to opt out of the federal health care law’s requirement that contraception coverage be provided to workers at no extra charge. Senior administration officials said Friday that ruling has no impact on nondiscrimination policies in federal hiring and contracting.

...

While few religious organizations are among the biggest federal contractors, they do provide some valued services, including overseas relief and development programs and re-entry programs for inmates leaving federal prisons.

Clearly, there's no greater crisis needing the attention of this President than the crisis being faced by that vast number of LGBT individuals who are being threatened by the discriminatory policies being foisted upon them by federal contracting hiring managers.

Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Secretary of State John Kerry said Monday that the U.S. is willing to talk with Iran to stem the advance by extremists and would not rule out possible military cooperation with the longtime enemy.

But the Pentagon quickly underscored that Washington would not be consulting with Iran on any potential military intervention. "We are not planning to engage with Iran on military activities inside Iraq," said Rear Adm. John Kirby, the Pentagon spokesman.

My hope is that the military viewpoint prevails but, let's face it, who do you think Obama will side with?

A New Hampshire man has returned to his native Sudan in a desperate bid to save his pregnant wife from hanging.

Daniel Wani, a Sudanese immigrant with U.S. citizenship, is now fighting for his wife's life after she was jailed with their 18-month-old son and sentenced to death for refusing to recant her Christian faith.

"I'm just praying for God. He can do a miracle," Wani's distraught brother, Gabriel Wani, told WMUR of his brother's recent travels from their home in Manchester.

Meriam Ibrahim, 26, who's eight months pregnant, was sentenced to death Thursday after convicted of "apostasy." Because of the Islamic court's refusal to acknowledge her 2011 marriage to Wani, who's a Christian, she was also sentenced to receive 100 lashes for adultery.

As in many Muslim nations, Muslim women in Sudan are prohibited from marrying non-Muslims, though Muslim men can marry outside their faith. By law, children must follow their father's religion.

Ibrahim's father was Muslim but he left her mother, who was an Orthodox Christian from Ethiopia, when she was a child, according to her family's attorney, Al-Shareef Ali al-Shareef Mohammed. She was consequently raised Christian.

Ibrahim was given four days to repent, accept Islam as her religion and ultimately escape death, said Mohammed, but it was an offer she refused.

A small group of protestors chanted “hey, hey, ho, ho, bring Andrew home” today in front of the Mexican consulate in downtown San Bernardino for the release of aa U.S. soldier from a Mexican jail.

The group was part of a national effort to bring home Marine Sgt. Andrew Tahmooressi, 25, a U.S. citizen who was detained after he said he missed a freeway exit near San Ysidro while going to dinner, unintentionally crossing into Mexico on March 31, said group organizer Robin Hvidston, of We the People Rising, an advocacy group supporting veterans.

Tahmooressi said Mexican authorities found three guns inside his truck. He was last reported as being held in Tijuana’s La Mesa Penitentiary without bail, according to news reports.

Tahmooressi served four years in the Marines, including two tours in Afghanistan before being honorably discharged in November 2012, according to news reports.

If we could drag Obama away from campaign fundraisers and if we could get John Kerry to shut the hell up about global warming, then maybe, just maybe, they could spend some time ensuring that these two people are freed.

Ya think?

In the meantime, we should set aside our anger (this sort of thing really pisses me off) and instead pray that people with sense, people with integrity, people with some semblance of decency and an understanding of right and wrong can become involved and work for a quick and peaceful resolution of both of these situations.

Sunday, March 02, 2014

"Russia chose this brazen act aggression and moved in with its forces on a completely trumped set of pre-texts claiming that people were threatened and the fact is that is not the act of somebody who is strong that is the act of somebody who is acting out of weakness and out of a certain kind of desperation. We hope that Russia will turn this around."

Earlier, he said this about Obama's 90 minute phone call with Putin:

"The President was very strong, he made absolutely clear that this is unacceptable and there will be serious repercussions if this stands. The President asked Mr. Putin, in fact told Mr. Putin that it was imperative to find a different path, to roll back this invasion and un-do this act of invasion."

So influenced was Putin by Obama's forceful rhetoric, he took action:

Within hours, Putin asked the Russian parliament for approval to send forces into Ukraine. The vote endorsing his request was unanimous, Obama’s warning drowned out by lawmakers’ rousing rendition of Russia’s national anthem at the end of the session. Russian troops now control the Crimean Peninsula.

Friday, January 03, 2014

There's another quirk in the Obama administration's new health insurance system: It lacks a way for consumers to quickly and easily update their coverage for the birth of a baby and other common life changes.

With regular private insurance, parents just notify the health plan. Insurers will still cover new babies, the administration says, but parents will also have to contact the government at some point later on.

Right now the HealthCare.gov website can't handle such updates.

It's a reminder that the new coverage for many uninsured Americans comes with a third party in the mix: the feds. And the system's wiring for some vital federal functions isn't yet fully connected.

It's not just having a new baby that could create bureaucratic hassles, but other life changes affecting a consumer's taxpayer-subsidized premiums. The list includes marriage and divorce, a death in the family, a new job or a change in income, even moving to a different community.

Such changes affect financial assistance available under the law, so the government has to be brought into the loop.

At least 2 million people have signed up for private health policies through new government markets under President Barack Obama's overhaul. Coverage started Wednesday, and so far things appear to be running fairly smoothly, although it may take time for problems to bubble up. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius calls it "a new day in health care" for millions of Americans.

Insurers say computerized "change in circumstance" updates to deal with family and life developments were supposed to have been part of the federal system from the start.

But that feature got postponed as the government scrambled to fix technical problems that overwhelmed the health care website during its first couple of months.

"It's just another example of 'We'll fix that later,'" said Bob Laszewski, an industry consultant who said he's gotten complaints from several insurer clients. "This needed to be done well before January. It's sort of a fly-by-night approach."

A fly-by-night approach could be used to describe a myriad of this administration's policies.

Sunday, November 10, 2013

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel warned Tuesday that troops and their families will be asked to sacrifice
on pay and benefits to preserve readiness in an era of tighter budgets.

Hagel listed politically-charged changes to compensation and personnel policy as one of his top six priorities in reforming the military following the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as the department gears up to meet new challenges.

...

In his 35-minute speech , Hagel said his strategic vision for the department's future constantly had to be balanced against the uncertainty of funding. The overall goal, given the political gridlock in Congress, involved a tradeoff on shrinking the size of the military to maintain investments in new weapons and cyberwarfare capabilities, Hagel said.

"Destructive technologies and weapons that were once the province of advanced militaries are being sought by non-state actors and other nations," Hagel said. "This will require our continued investment in cutting-edge defensive space and cyber technologies, and capabilities like missile defense, as well as offensive technologies and capabilities to deter aggressors and respond if we must.".

The degree of difficulty in the task increased exponentially under the budget cuts, Hagel said. The Defense Department is "currently facing sequester-level cuts on the order of $500 billion over 10 years. This is in addition to the ten-year, $487 billion reduction in DoD's budget that is already underway."

"These cuts are too fast, too much, too abrupt, and too irresponsible," Hagel said. "DoD took a $37 billion sequester cut during the past fiscal year, and we could be forced to absorb a $52 billion sequester cut this fiscal year."

Hagel also echoed the themes of former Defense Secretary Robert Gates and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who reached a consensus on foreign policy that combined the soft power of diplomacy and development with the hard power of the military to achieve what they termed "smart power." Hagel said.

How's that smart power working out for us?

It's a travesty that those we're sending into harm's way over and over again should, upon arriving home or even before, be targeted for pay and benefit cuts. A travesty made all the more egregious when one thinks of the litany of wasteful government programs geared less toward helping anyone and more toward empowering those who dream the programs into existence. Hello Obamacare.